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Abstract

Twice a year, during the equinoxes, when daytime and nighttime are equal all around the world, the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) celebrates International Polar Week. During this week, APECS aims to raise awareness of polar and alpine regions with their people, research and stories. Over the last years, APECS Germany has contributed several events to support and celebrate International Polar Week. On the occasion of Polar Week in March 2021 and with the motto “let's talk fieldwork”, we hosted a special online polar fieldwork panel discussion, welcoming fellow researchers and interested students alike. Conducting polar fieldwork is no easy feat. Many months or even years of preparations are necessary before actually setting off: discussing research questions, writing proposals, making logistical arrangements, and planning food, equipment, clothing and personnel – only to name a few aspects. Nevertheless, it is a fundamental part of numerous polar research projects as it enables collecting in situ observations and samples that will lay the foundation for answering major research questions. Undertaking fieldwork can be both exciting and intimidating, especially when going for the first time. What should I bring? What is it like to live with the same people for days or even several weeks on end? Am I going to be cold? Existing resources like the INTERACT Fieldwork Planning Handbook (Rasch et al., 2019) already present in-depth explanations relating to a wide range of topics. We, a team from APECS Germany, wanted to provide a more personal and informal environment for debating ideas, experiences, issues and other curious questions which might come up. To enable this exchange, we invited six fieldwork-proven early-career scientists to form the panel for the discussion. Figure 1 presents their varied background and fieldwork experience ranging from expeditions to mountain glaciers and continental ice sheets, to research cruises through the Arctic, to social and scientific studies in Greenland.